Structural representation and facilitation of manipulation thereof via implicit vertex relationships

ABSTRACT

The disclosed embodiments relate to a representation of a structure/space as a collection of interrelated partitions whereby manipulation of the partitions causes an automated propagation of the manipulation through the other interrelated partitions as a function of the relationships therebetween. Each partition is defined by one or more vertices, the location(s) of which is/are specified either relative to an origin or relative to, i.e. as a function of, or dependent upon, the location of another vertex within the partition (intra-partition) or within another partition (inter-partition). Where the location of a vertex is moved, the change is propagated implicitly to all other vertices whose location is related, i.e. specified as a function of the modified vertex.

BACKGROUND

A floor plan of a building, or other structure or space, is arepresentation or model thereof typically depicted as a view from abovewhich may be embodied on paper or in electronic form, such as anelectronic image or drawing. A floor plan defines and represents theboundary of the structure/space, referred to as the footprint, forexample, as a polygon. A floor plan may further define and representinternal partitioning and/or compartmentalization of the interior, i.e.within the boundary/footprint, such as by depicting the position ofwalls, e.g. as lines, and other physical features. The floor plan mayfurther represent dimensions and other absolute or relativecharacteristics of the structure/space through explicit notation and/orvia proportional representations. Where a structure comprises multiplestories, levels or planes separating vertically defined spaces, e.g.floors, a floor plan for each floor, i.e. at each defined elevation, maybe generated to depict the layout, unique or not, thereof and mayinclude depictions of features, such as walls, elevator shafts,staircases, etc. shared between or otherwise common among multiplelevels.

An exemplary structure is a shopping mall which may have, within itsfootprint, multiple partitioned spaces for retail establishments acrossmultiple floors. Another example includes an office building havingmultiple floors partitioned into office space, common rooms, etc.

Floor plans serve many purposes. During the design of thestructure/space, a floor plan may serve as a model or blueprint of thestructure/space and used to plan and evaluate the design and facilitateconstruction thereof. Subsequent to construction, the floor plan may beused for remodeling or altering the design at later time. Further, thefloor plan may used to generate maps of the structure/space which may beused to assist occupants/visitors in navigating between locationswithin, e.g. from an entrance to a particular office, store, bathroom,etc. Floor plans may further facilitate integration of a representationof the structure/space into a larger representation of an area in whichstructure space exists. For example, a regional geographic map mayfeature a representation of a shopping mall depicted at the geographiclocation thereof.

A floor plan may be created via free hand or other manual drawingtechniques or using computer aided design (“CAD”) tools. In either case,for a given floor plan the designer draws representations of, forexample, the exterior walls, interior partitions, elevators, staircases,doors, etc. When creating floor plans for multiple levels of astructure, the designer may define the floor plan of each successivelevel based on a representation of the floor plan of the prior level.For example, they may trace the footprint and common features from theprior level into the new level before then adding the unique features ofthat level.

While these techniques are straightforward and may result in highlyaccurate representations of a structure or space, they also suffer fromproblems. For example, the copying and/or tracing of features betweenlevels can propagate and/or exaggerate design errors such as offsetsbetween features which should be collinear among levels. Such errors maybe introduced due to user error and/or due to imprecision in therepresentation of features, such as on a display screen, as comparedwith the actual characteristics of the actual physical features. Forexample, a representation on a computer display may inaccuratelyrepresent that two lines are drawn exactly on top of one another when infact their positions are offset. This may occur due to the resolution orscale at which the computer generates the displayed representation ascompared to dimensions of the feature represented thereby. Such errorsmay only become apparent when the floor plan is suitably manipulated,e.g. scaled or translated, and/or via a visual comparison between levelswhere, for example, subtle offsets may become visually perceptible. Forexample, when manipulating, such as scaling or translating, the floorplan of multiple levels for the purpose of creating a derivationthereof, e.g. navigational maps of the interior space, these errors maybe revealed as incongruities between the levels and misrepresentationsof relationships between locations.

In cartography, rubber-sheeting refers to the process by which a layer,such as a floor plan, may be distorted to allow it to be seamlesslyjoined to an adjacent geographic layer of matching imagery, such assatellite imagery (most commonly vector cartographic data) which aredigital maps. This is sometimes referred to as image-to-vectorconflation. Often this has to be done when layers created from adjacentmap sheets are joined together. Rubber-sheeting is necessary because theimagery and the vector data will rarely match up correctly due tovarious reasons, such as the angle at which the image was taken, thecurvature of the surface of the earth, minor movements in the imagingplatform (such as a satellite or aircraft), and other errors in theimagery. Using floor plans created as described above, this process mayreveal misalignments or incongruities or otherwise distort proportionsresulting in less accurate or misleading representations.

Another problem with typical floor plan drawing techniques is thedifficulty in making modifications or revisions. For example, where adesigner wishes to modify a feature whose position may affect otherfeatures within a level or across levels, e.g. move an exterior wall,the designer must manually propagate the change to the affected featureswithin the level or otherwise across levels. Propagation of changes istime consuming and affords additional opportunities to introduce errorsinto the floor plan and/or may reveal or exacerbate errors which werepreviously made.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of the systemfor facilitating manipulation of a representation of a structureaccording to the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts a flow chart showing operation of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system foruse with the system of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict representations of an exemplary floor plandiagrams of story of a structure according to the disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed embodiments relate to a representation of a structure orspace as a collection of interrelated partitions whereby manipulation ofone or more partitions causes an automated propagation of themanipulation through the other interrelated partitions as a function ofthe relationships therebtween. Each partition is defined by one or morevertices, the location(s) of which is/are specified either relative toan origin or relative to, i.e. as a function of, or dependent upon, thelocation of another vertex within the partition (intra-partition) orwithin another partition (inter-partition). Where the location of avertex is moved, the change is propagated implicitly to all othervertices whose location is related, i.e. specified as a function of themodified vertex. For example, the modification of the location of anexterior wall may cause an automated propagation of that modificationamong the floor plans representative of the levels having the wall incommon as well as among the interior features of the space dependentthereon. Thereby, desired relative positioning of features within afloor plan, as well as between levels, is preserved, e.g. collinearityof walls between levels is assured, absolute or proportioned distancesbetween features is maintained, etc.

The disclosed embodiments may further provide tools to assist a user inensuring that desired relationships between features of the structure orspace are accurately represented. For example, when defining theboundary, i.e. wall, of multiple levels, the disclosed embodiments mayrecognize when the user intends the boundary of one level to becollinear with the previously defined boundary of another level, such asbased on a threshold difference in the specification thereof, andautomatically adjust, e.g. “snap”, the location of the new boundary tobe exactly over the prior boundary.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an exemplary floor plan diagram 400 of one story ofa structure. As used herein, a story is defined as the space in abuilding between two adjacent floor levels or between a floor and theroof and may include a set of rooms in such a space. The floor plan 400depicts an area 402 defined by the boundary of the story as well asseveral partitioned spaces within, designated in the figures as P1 406(designated by vertices 406A-D and fringe vertices 406E-H), P2 408(designated by vertices 408A-D and fringe vertices 408E-F), P3 410(designated by vertices 410A-B and 412B-C), and P4 412 (designated byvertices 412A-D), which may be depicted as polygons. As used herein, theterm “polygon” may refer to geometric object consisting of a number ofpoints, which may be referred to as vertices, and an equal number ofline segments, which may be referred to as sides or edges, oralternatively as a cyclically ordered set of points in a plane, with nothree successive points collinear, together with the line segmentsjoining consecutive pairs of the points, e.g., a polygon may be a closedbroken line lying in a plane. It will be appreciated that the linesegments which make up the sides/edges need not be straight lines andmay include curves, such as a b-spline or other Bezier curve, which maybe collectively referred to herein as “lines.” The boundary 404 of thestory is defined by the locations of vertices 404A-404F. The position ofat least one of the vertices 404A-404F may be defined relative to anorigin (not shown) whereas the location of the remaining vertices404A-404F may be defined either relative to the origin and/or relativeto each other. The relationship may be an absolute distance between therelated vertices, a proportionate distance between the related vertices,defined by an angle relative to a fixed direction, defined by acharacteristic of the positions of the vertices, such as a collinearitythere between in particular direction, e.g. vertically collinear, or acombination thereof. For example, vertex 404A may be defined as 10 unitseast and 10 units north of the origin. Vertex 404B may then be definedas 50 units north of vertex 404A or as 10 units east and 60 units northof the origin. The remaining vertices 404C-F may be similarly defined.Defining one vertex in relation to another vertex creates an implicitrelationship which, as will be described below, is maintained by thedisclosed system 100 when either vertex is modified. A vertex specifiedrelative solely to the origin may be referred to as an absolute oranchor vertex whereas a vertex specified, at least in part, with respectto another vertex may be referred to as a relative vertex. Lines orcurves depicted/connected, such as solid or dotted lines, betweenvertices may represent walls or other structural interconnectionspanning the space between the associated vertices or may represent someother relationship there between. The lack of a line/curvedepicted/connected between vertices may represent a passage or openingthere between or the lack of a relationship between vertices. Otherrepresentations may be used to depict windows, doors, stairwayselevators, etc. It will be appreciated that manner and arrangement ofsuch depictions are implementation dependent. While vertices whichdefine the boundary 404 of the story generally are locations where theboundary changes direction so as to form a polygon, e.g. locationsbetween non-collinear vertices, vertices may also be specified along theboundary so as to define openings, doorways, windows or other passagesor connections, or as will be described, to define locations of interiorpartitions. As such, relative vertices may be further categorized as“fringe” vertices, defined collineararily between two vertices whichform part of the boundary 404 of the story, and “floating” vertices,which are located within space defined by the boundary 404 of the story,and which may be defined relative to an origin and/or another vertex. Aswill be described, fringe and floating vertices may be utilized todefine partitions within the story.

Generally, one example of an implicit function is a function in whichthe dependent variable has not been given “explicitly” in terms of theindependent variable. To give a function f explicitly is to provide aprescription for determining the output value of the function y in termsof the input value x:y=f(x).By contrast, the function is implicit if the value of y may be obtainedfrom x by solving an equation of the form:R(x,y)=0.That is, it is defined as the level set of a function in two variables:one variable may determine the other, but one is not given an explicitformula for one in terms of the other. Implicit functions can often beuseful in situations where it is inconvenient to solve explicitly anequation of the form R(x,y)=0 for y in terms of x. Even if it ispossible to rearrange this equation to obtain y as an explicit functionf(x), it may not be desirable to do so since the expression of f may bemuch more complicated than the expression of R. In other situations, theequation R(x,y)=0 may fail to define a function at all, and ratherdefines a kind of multiple-valued function. It will be appreciated thatthere may be other forms of mathematical or logical implicit functionswhich may used with the embodiments disclosed herein.

While the disclosed embodiments generally describe implicitrelationships between vertices, it will be appreciated that implicitrelationships between edges/sides of polygons, i.e. the characterizingparametric information, may also be implemented, whether those edges arestraight lines or curves, e.g. b-splines. Accordingly, where such edgesare implicitly related, changes to one edge, e.g., a change to theparametric data characteristic thereof, may be propagated to the otherrelated edges so as to maintain the relationship there between asdescribed herein.

As discussed above, interior partitions, such as interior partitions P1,P2, P3, and P4 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, which may berepresented/depicted as polygons, are similarly defined by vertices,which may be specified in relation to an origin and/or to othervertices, e.g., anchor, relative, fringe, floating or combinationsthereof. The boundary of some partitions may be defined, at least inpart, by at least a portion of the exterior boundary 404 of the story.For example, partition P4 may be constructed in the corner of the storyusing two walls extending from the exterior walls of the story. Otherpartitions may be defined by a boundary entirely within the space, e.g.,concentric, defined by the boundary 404 of the story. It will beappreciated that, while not shown, the entire interior area of the storydefined by the boundary 404 may be considered a partition. Partitionsmay include rooms, kiosks or other distinctly defined spaces and may bepartially or completely enclosed. As with the vertices 404A-F whichdefine the boundary 404 of the story, the relationships which define thelocations of the vertices which define a partition may include anabsolute distance between the related vertices, a proportionate distancebetween the related vertices, defined by an angle relative to a fixeddirection, defined by a characteristic of the positions of the vertices,such as a collineararity there between in particular direction, e.g.vertically collinear, or a combination thereof. Vertices which arelocated within the space defined by the boundary 404 may be definedrelative, e.g. 40 feet and 90 degrees, to a fringe vertex defined at alocation between two vertices of the boundary 404, or relative to asingle vertex of the boundary 404, e.g. by an angle and magnitude suchas 30 degrees, 120 feet. It will be appreciated that such locations maybe specified using polar coordinates. As with the vertices 404A-F whichdefine the boundary 404 of the story, defining one vertex of thepartition in relation to another vertex creates an implicit relationshipwhich, as will be described below, is maintained by the disclosed system100 when either vertex is modified.

For example, if a first vertex location is specified as being 5 feet and90 degrees from a second vertex and the second vertex is moved, thelocation of the first vertex is automatically updated so that it ismaintained at 5 feet and 90 degrees form the first vertex. If a firstvertex location is specified as being 50% of the distance between secondand third vertices and either, or both, the second and third verticesare moved, the location of the first vertex will automatically change tomaintain its relationship of 50% of the distance between the second andthird vertices.

FIG. 4B demonstrates what happens when vertex 404F is moved. As can beseen, the locations of the vertices defining partitions P2, P3 and P4,which were specified in some manner relative to vertex 404F, have beenmodified based on the change in location of vertex 404F. It will beappreciated that if other stories of the present structure were definedby vertices specified relative to the vertices 404A-F which define theboundary 404 of the story depicted in FIG. 4, those vertices, verticesdefined as being vertically collinear to vertex 404F, wouldautomatically be modified to maintain the vertical collinearrelationship. Of course all dependent vertices across stories would alsobe automatically/implicitly modified.

In particular, in one embodiment, a floor plan design tool may operateas shown in Appendix A below, herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

In one embodiment, a system 100 is provided which includes an interface134 operative to receive a specification of a structure having at leastone story, the specification comprising a set of partition definitionsfor each story, each partition definition of the set defining asubdivision of the area of the associated story, such as the entire areathereof or just a portion thereof, the subdivision being defined by atleast a portion of an outer boundary, at least a portion of an interiorboundary or a combination thereof, each partition definition beingspecified as a location of at least one vertex relative to an origin,relative to at least one other vertex or a combination thereof.

The system 100 further includes a processor 108 coupled with theinterface 134 and operative to relate the received partition definitionto each previously received partition definition for which a location ofat least one vertex of the received partition is specified relative toat least one vertex of the previously received partition definition, andwhereby, upon receipt of a modification of at least a portion of atleast one partition definition which modifies a location of at least onevertex specified thereby, each other partition definition, related tothe partition definition for which the modification was received, ismodified as a function of the relationship between the vertex whoselocation was modified and the vertex of the related partitiondefinition.

In particular, FIG. 1 shows a system 100 which generally includes aprocessor 108 and a memory 110 coupled therewith which may beimplemented by one or more of the processor 302 and memory 304 asdescribed below with respect to FIG. 3. In particular, the system 100may be implemented, at least in part, in a desktop computer, portablecomputer, mobile device, such as a cellular telephone, smart phone,mobile navigation device or tablet computing device. Further, one ormore parts of the system 100 may be implemented in a server, e.g. remotefrom the desktop/portable computer or mobile device, coupled therewithvia a network, such as a wired or wireless network, or combinationthereof, e.g. the network 320 described below with respect to FIG. 3.

Herein, the phrase “coupled with” is defined to mean directly connectedto or indirectly connected through one or more intermediate components.Such intermediate components may include both hardware and softwarebased components. Further, to clarify the use in the pending claims andto hereby provide notice to the public, the phrases “at least one of<A>, <B>, . . . and <N>” or “at least one of <A>, <B>, . . . <N>, orcombinations thereof” are defined by the Applicant in the broadestsense, superseding any other implied definitions herebefore orhereinafter unless expressly asserted by the Applicant to the contrary,to mean one or more elements selected from the group comprising A, B, .. . and N, that is to say, any combination of one or more of theelements A, B, . . . or N including any one element alone or incombination with one or more of the other elements which may alsoinclude, in combination, additional elements not listed.

The system 100 further includes an interface 134, e.g., a userinterface, coupled with the processor 108 and operative to receive, suchas from a user, a specification of a structure having at least onestory, the specification comprising a set of partition definitions foreach story, each partition definition of the set defining a subdivisionof the area of the associated story, which may include the entire areaor a portion thereof, the subdivision being defined by at least aportion of an outer boundary, at least a portion of an interior boundaryor a combination thereof, each partition definition being specified as alocation of at least one vertex relative to an origin, relative to atleast one other vertex or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, therelationship between vertices may be specified as one of an absolutedistance, a proportionate distance, an angle relative to a fixeddirection, collinearity, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment,one partition definition may define a subdivision, which is the entirearea of the story, a subdivision of the area of a story which at leastpartially overlaps a subdivision of the area of the story defined byanother partition definition, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, theset of partition definitions for a story may include at least onepartition definition defining a subdivision, which is not bounded by anouter boundary of the story. In addition, as will be described below, atleast one partition definition of the set of partition definitions of astory of the structure may be specified as a location, within the story,of at least one vertex relative to at least one other vertex, thelocation of which is specified by another partition definition of a setof partition definitions of a different story of the structure.

The system 100 further includes first logic 112 stored in the memory 110and executable by the processor 108 to cause the processor 108 togenerate a representation of each partition definition upon receiptthereof and store the generated representation in the memory 110.

The system 100 also includes second logic 114 stored in the memory 110and executable by the processor 108 to cause the processor 108 to relatethe stored representation of the received partition definition to eachpreviously stored representation generated for a previously receivedpartition definition for which a location of at least one vertex of thereceived partition is specified relative to at least one vertex of thepreviously received partition definition.

In one embodiment, the second logic 114 is further executable by theprocessor 108 to cause the processor 108 to generate and store, when areceived partition definition defines a subdivision having at least aportion of a boundary in common with another subdivision defined by apreviously received partition definition, a representation of the commonportion of the boundary and relate the representation of the commonportion of the boundary to the representations of the associatedpartition definitions.

The system 100 also includes third logic 116 stored in the memory 110and executable by the processor 108 to cause the processor 108 to, uponreceipt, via the interface 134, of a modification of at least a portionof at least one partition definition which modifies a location of atleast one vertex specified thereby, modify each other storedrepresentation, related to the representation of the partitiondefinition for which the modification was received, as a function of therelationship between the vertex whose location was modified and thevertex of the partition definition represented by the relatedrepresentation. In one embodiment, the processor 108 is operative, basedon the received modification, to apply an affine transformation, arubber sheeting transform, or combination thereof, to each applicablevertex.

In one embodiment, the interface 134 is further operative to receive amodification of at least a portion of at least one partition definitionwhich modifies a location of at least one vertex specified thereby, andbased thereon modifying the associated stored representation and whereinthe third logic is further executable by the processor to cause theprocessor to identify each other stored representation related to therepresentation for which the modification was received, and modify eachidentified other stored representation so as to modify the partitiondefinition represented thereby such that the relationship between thevertex whose location was modified and the vertex of the partitiondefinition represented by each identified other stored representation ismaintained, wherein the identification and modification are furtherrepeated by the processor for each of the identified other storedrepresentations.

In one embodiment, at least one partition definition of the set ofpartition definitions of a story of the structure is specified as alocation, within the story, of at least one vertex relative to at leastone other vertex, the location of which is specified by anotherpartition definition of a set of partition definitions of a differentstory of the structure. In particular, wherein the at location of the atleast one vertex is specified substantially collinear, such asvertically collinear, to the location of the at least one other vertex,the first logic 112 may be further executable by the processor 108 tocause the processor 108 to adjust one of the location of the at leastone vertex, the location of the at least one other vertex or acombination thereof such that the location of the at least one vertex iscollinear with the location of the at least one other vertex.

In one implementation of the disclosed system, specification of allvertices, or a subset thereof, may be received prior to the processor108 executing the first, second and third logic 112, 114, 116.Alternatively, the system 100 may be implemented such that the first,second and third logic, or subsets thereof, are executed by theprocessor 108 as vertices are defined, such as in real time as thespecifications thereof are received and/or modified.

FIG. 2 depicts a flow chart showing operation of the system 100 ofFIG. 1. In particular FIG. 2 shows a computer implemented method whichincludes receiving, by a processor 108, a specification of a structurehaving at least one story, the specification comprising a set ofpartition definitions for each story, each partition definition of theset defining a subdivision of the area of the associated story, thesubdivision being defined by at least a portion of an outer boundary ofthe story of the structure, at least a portion of an interior boundaryof the story of the structure or a combination thereof, each partitiondefinition being specified as a location of at least one vertex relativeto an origin, relative to at least one other vertex or a combinationthereof [Block 202]. The operation of the system 100 further includesgenerating, by the processor 108, a representation of each partitiondefinition upon receipt thereof and storing the generated representationin a memory 110 coupled with the processor 108 [Block 204] and relating,by the processor 108, the stored representation of the receivedpartition definition to each previously stored representation generatedfor a previously received partition definition for which a location ofat least one vertex of the received partition is specified relative toat least one vertex of the previously received partition definition[Block 206]. Whereby, upon receipt of a modification of at least aportion of at least one partition definition which modifies a locationof at least one vertex specified thereby, each other storedrepresentation, related to the representation of the partitiondefinition for which the modification was received, is modified as afunction of the relationship between the vertex whose location wasmodified and the vertex of the partition definition represented by therelated representation [Block 208].

In one embodiment, the relationship between vertices may be specified asone of an absolute distance, a proportionate distance, an angle relativeto a fixed direction, collinearity, or a combination thereof. In oneembodiment, one partition definition may define a subdivision, which isthe entire area of the story, a subdivision of the area of a story whichat least partially overlaps a subdivision of the area of the storydefined by another partition definition, or a combination thereof.Furthermore, the set of partition definitions for a story may include atleast one partition definition defining a subdivision, which is notbounded by an outer boundary of the story. In addition, as will bedescribed below, at least one partition definition of the set ofpartition definitions of a story of the structure may be specified as alocation, within the story, of at least one vertex relative to at leastone other vertex, the location of which is specified by anotherpartition definition of a set of partition definitions of a differentstory of the structure.

In one embodiment, the operation of the system 100 may further include:receiving, by the processor 108, a modification of at least a portion ofat least one partition definition which modifies a location of at leastone vertex specified thereby [Block 210], and based thereon modifyingthe associated stored representation [Block 212]; identifying, by theprocessor 108, each other stored representation related to therepresentation for which the modification was received [Block 214]; andmodifying, by the processor 108, each identified other storedrepresentation so as to modify the partition definition representedthereby such that the relationship between the vertex whose location wasmodified and the vertex of the partition definition represented by eachidentified other stored representation is maintained [Block 216]; andwherein the identifying and modifying are further repeated by theprocessor 108 for each of the identified other stored representations[Block 218].

In one embodiment, the modifying further includes applying an affinetransformation, a rubber-sheeting transform, or combination thereof, toeach vertex [Block 220].

In one embodiment, the operation of the system 100 may further includegenerating and storing, by the processor when a received partitiondefinition defines a subdivision having at least a portion of a boundaryin common with another subdivision defined by a previously receivedpartition definition, a representation of the common portion of theboundary and relating the representation of the common portion of theboundary to the representations of the associated partition definitions[Block 224].

In one embodiment, as was described above, at least one partitiondefinition of the set of partition definitions of a story of thestructure is specified as a location, within the story, of at least onevertex relative to at least one other vertex, the location of which isspecified by another partition definition of a set of partitiondefinitions of a different story of the structure. Wherein the atlocation of the at least one vertex is specified substantially collinearto the location of the at least one other vertex, the operation of thesystem 100 may further include adjusting one of the location of the atleast one vertex, the location of the at least one other vertex or acombination thereof such that the location of the at least one vertex iscollinear with the location of the at least one other vertex [Block222].

Referring to FIG. 3, an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem 300 is shown. The computer system 300 can include a set ofinstructions that can be executed to cause the computer system 300 toperform any one or more of the methods or computer based functionsdisclosed herein. The computer system 300 may operate as a standalonedevice or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to other computersystems or peripheral devices. Any of the components discussed above,such as the processor 108, may be a computer system 300 or a componentin the computer system 300. The computer system 300 may implement anavigation system, of which the disclosed embodiments are a componentthereof.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 300 may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a client-serveruser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 300 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularembodiment, the computer system 300 can be implemented using electronicdevices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, whilea single computer system 300 is illustrated, the term “system” shallalso be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the computer system 300 may include aprocessor 302, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. The processor 302 may be a component ina variety of systems. For example, the processor 302 may be part of astandard personal computer or a workstation. The processor 302 may beone or more general processors, digital signal processors, applicationspecific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, servers,networks, digital circuits, analog circuits, combinations thereof, orother now known or later developed devices for analyzing and processingdata. The processor 302 may implement a software program, such as codegenerated manually (i.e., programmed).

The computer system 300 may include a memory 304 that can communicatevia a bus 308. The memory 304 may be a main memory, a static memory, ora dynamic memory. The memory 304 may include, but is not limited tocomputer readable storage media such as various types of volatile andnon-volatile storage media, including but not limited to random accessmemory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electricallyprogrammable read-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory,flash memory, magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In oneembodiment, the memory 304 includes a cache or random access memory forthe processor 302. In alternative embodiments, the memory 304 isseparate from the processor 302, such as a cache memory of a processor,the system memory, or other memory. The memory 304 may be an externalstorage device or database for storing data. Examples include a harddrive, compact disc (“CD”), digital video disc (“DVD”), memory card,memory stick, floppy disc, universal serial bus (“USB”) memory device,or any other device operative to store data. The memory 304 is operableto store instructions executable by the processor 302. The functions,acts or tasks illustrated in the figures or described herein may beperformed by the programmed processor 302 executing the instructions 312stored in the memory 304. The functions, acts or tasks are independentof the particular type of instructions set, storage media, processor orprocessing strategy and may be performed by software, hardware,integrated circuits, firm-ware, micro-code and the like, operating aloneor in combination. Likewise, processing strategies may includemultiprocessing, multitasking, parallel processing and the like.

As shown, the computer system 300 may further include a display unit314, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, a cathode raytube (CRT), a projector, a printer or other now known or later developeddisplay device for outputting determined information. The display 314may act as an interface for the user to see the functioning of theprocessor 302, or specifically as an interface with the software storedin the memory 304 or in the drive unit 306. A tactile output may furtherbe provides such a mechanical or piezoelectric vibration motor.

Additionally, the computer system 300 may include an input device 316configured to allow a user to interact with any of the components ofsystem 300. The input device 316 may be a number pad, a keyboard, or acursor control device, such as a mouse, or a joystick, touch screendisplay, remote control, accelerometer, motion sensor, proximity sensor,optional sensor, e.g. a camera, or any other device operative tointeract with the system 300.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 3, the computer system300 may also include a disk or optical drive unit 306. The disk driveunit 306 may include a computer-readable medium 310 in which one or moresets of instructions 312, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 312 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 312 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the memory 304 and/orwithin the processor 302 during execution by the computer system 300.The memory 304 and the processor 302 also may include computer-readablemedia as discussed above.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 312 or receives and executes instructions 312responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to anetwork 320 can communicate voice, video, audio, images or any otherdata over the network 320. Further, the instructions 312 may betransmitted or received over the network 320 via a communicationinterface 318. The communication interface 318 may be a part of theprocessor 302 or may be a separate component. The communicationinterface 318 may be created in software or may be a physical connectionin hardware. The communication interface 318 is configured to connectwith a network 320, external media, the display 314, or any othercomponents in system 300, or combinations thereof. The connection withthe network 320 may be a physical connection, such as a wired Ethernetconnection or may be established wirelessly as discussed below.Likewise, the additional connections with other components of the system300 may be physical connections or may be established wirelessly.

The network 320 may include wired networks, wireless networks, orcombinations thereof. The wireless network may be a cellular telephonenetwork, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, or WiMax network. Further, thenetwork 320 may be a public network, such as the Internet, a privatenetwork, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize avariety of networking protocols now available or later developedincluding, but not limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Embodiments ofthe subject matter described in this specification can be implemented asone or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules ofcomputer program instructions encoded on a computer readable medium forexecution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus.While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a singlenon-transitory medium, the term “computer-readable medium” includes asingle non-transitory medium or multiple media, such as a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers that storeone or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium”shall also include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying a set of instructions for execution by a processor or thatcause a computer system to perform any one or more of the methods oroperations disclosed herein. The computer readable medium can be amachine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, amemory device, or a combination of one or more of them. The term “dataprocessing apparatus” encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machinesfor processing data, including by way of example a programmableprocessor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. Theapparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates anexecution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., codethat constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, or a combination of one or moreof them.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure isconsidered to include any one or more of a computer-readable medium or adistribution medium and other equivalents and successor media, in whichdata or instructions may be stored.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the invention is not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and otherpacket switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP,HTTPS) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards areperiodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards andprotocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed hereinare considered equivalents thereof.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can bedeployed in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module,component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computingenvironment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to afile in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a filethat holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in amarkup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store oneor more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer programcan be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computersthat are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application specific integrated circuit).

As used in this application, the term ‘circuitry’ or ‘circuit’ refers toall of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such asimplementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and (b) tocombinations of circuits and software (and/or firmware), such as (asapplicable): (i) to a combination of processor(s) or (ii) to portions ofprocessor(s)/software (including digital signal processor(s)), software,and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as amobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) tocircuits, such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of amicroprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation, evenif the software or firmware is not physically present.

This definition of ‘circuitry’ applies to all uses of this term in thisapplication, including in any claims. As a further example, as used inthis application, the term “circuitry” would also cover animplementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or portionof a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.The term “circuitry” would also cover, for example and if applicable tothe particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit orapplications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or asimilar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, orother network device.

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andanyone or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computerneed not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded inanother device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS)receiver, to name just a few. Computer readable media suitable forstoring computer program instructions and data include all forms of nonvolatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of examplesemiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks;magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor andthe memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purposelogic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a devicehaving a display, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboardand a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the usercan provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used toprovide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedbackprovided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visualfeedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from theuser can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactileinput.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back end, middleware, or front end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, thedisclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative ratherthan restrictive.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the invention or of what may beclaimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particularembodiments of the invention. Certain features that are described inthis specification in the context of separate embodiments can also beimplemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single embodiment canalso be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in anysuitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be describedabove as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed assuch, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some casesbe excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings and describedherein in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiringthat such operations be performed in the particular order shown or insequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, toachieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation ofvarious system components in the embodiments described above should notbe understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may begrouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus,the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimedsubject matter.

It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description beregarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understoodthat it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that areintended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method comprising:receiving, by a processor, a specification of a structure having atleast one story, the specification comprising a set of partitiondefinitions for each story, each partition definition of the setdefining a subdivision of the area of the associated story, thesubdivision being defined by at least a portion of an outer boundary ofthe story of the structure, at least a portion of an interior boundaryof the story of the structure or a combination thereof, each partitiondefinition being specified as a location of at least one vertex relativeto an origin, of at least one vertex relative to at least one othervertex or a combination thereof; generating, by the processor, arepresentation of each partition definition upon receipt thereof andstoring the generated representation in a memory coupled with theprocessor; relating, by the processor, the stored representation of thereceived partition definition to each previously stored representationgenerated for a previously received partition definition for which alocation of at least one vertex of the received partition is specifiedrelative to the location of at least one vertex of the previouslyreceived partition definition; and whereby, upon receipt of amodification of at least a portion of at least one partition definitionwhich modifies a location of at least one vertex specified thereby, eachother stored representation, related to the representation of thepartition definition for which the modification was received, ismodified as a function of the relationship between the vertex whoselocation was modified and the location of the vertex of the partitiondefinition represented by the related representation.
 2. The computerimplemented method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving, by theprocessor, a modification of at least a portion of at least onepartition definition which modifies a location of at least one vertexspecified thereby, and based thereon modifying the associated storedrepresentation; identifying, by the processor, each other storedrepresentation related to the representation for which the modificationwas received; and modifying, by the processor, each identified otherstored representation so as to modify the partition definitionrepresented thereby such that the relationship between the vertex whoselocation was modified and the vertex of the partition definitionrepresented by each identified other stored representation ismaintained; and wherein the identifying and modifying are furtherrepeated by the processor for each of the identified other storedrepresentations.
 3. The computer implemented method of claim 2 whereinthe modifying further comprises applying an affine transformation, arubber-sheeting transform, or combination thereof, to each vertex. 4.The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the relationshipcomprises one of an absolute distance, a proportionate distance, anangle relative to a fixed direction, collinearity, or a combinationthereof.
 5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein onepartition definition defines a subdivision of the area of a story whichat least partially overlaps a subdivision of the area of the storydefined by another partition definition.
 6. The computer implementedmethod of claim 1 wherein a partition definition may define asubdivision as an entire area of a story.
 7. The computer implementedmethod of claim 1 further comprising: generating and storing, by theprocessor when a received partition definition defines a subdivisionhaving at least a portion of a boundary in common with anothersubdivision defined by a previously received partition definition, arepresentation of the common portion of the boundary and relating therepresentation of the common portion of the boundary to therepresentations of the associated partition definitions.
 8. The computerimplemented method of claim 1 wherein at least one partition definitionof the set of partition definitions of a story of the structure isspecified as a location, within the story, of at least one vertexrelative to at least one other vertex, the location of which isspecified by another partition definition of a set of partitiondefinitions of a different story of the structure.
 9. The computerimplemented method of claim 8 wherein the at location of the at leastone vertex is specified approximately collinear to the location of theat least one other vertex, the method further comprising adjusting oneof the location of the at least one vertex, the location of the at leastone other vertex or a combination thereof such that the location of theat least one vertex is collinear with the location of the at least oneother vertex.
 10. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein theset of partition definitions for a story comprises at least onepartition definition defining a subdivision which is not bounded by anouter boundary of the story.
 11. A system comprising: a processor; amemory coupled with the processor; an interface coupled with theprocessor and operative to receive a specification of a structure havingat least one story, the specification comprising a set of partitiondefinitions for each story, each partition definition of the setdefining a subdivision of the area of the associated story, thesubdivision being defined by at least a portion of an outer boundary, atleast a portion of an interior boundary or a combination thereof, eachpartition definition being specified as a location of at least onevertex relative to an origin, a location of at least one vertex relativeto at least one other vertex or a combination thereof; first logicstored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause theprocessor to generate a representation of each partition definition uponreceipt thereof and store the generated representation in the memory;second logic stored in the memory and executable by the processor tocause the processor to relate the stored representation of the receivedpartition definition to each previously stored representation generatedfor a previously received partition definition for which a location ofat least one vertex of the received partition is specified relative tothe location of at least one vertex of the previously received partitiondefinition; and third logic stored in the memory and executable by theprocessor to cause the processor to, upon receipt, via the interface, ofa modification of at least a portion of at least one partitiondefinition which modifies a location of at least one vertex specifiedthereby, modify each other stored representation, related to therepresentation of the partition definition for which the modificationwas received, as a function of the relationship between the vertex whoselocation was modified and the location of the vertex of the partitiondefinition represented by the related representation.
 12. The system ofclaim 11 wherein the interface is further operative to receive amodification of at least a portion of at least one partition definitionwhich modifies a location of at least one vertex specified thereby, andbased thereon modifying the associated stored representation and whereinthe third logic is further executable by the processor to cause theprocessor to identify each other stored representation related to therepresentation for which the modification was received, and modify eachidentified other stored representation so as to modify the partitiondefinition represented thereby such that the relationship between thevertex whose location was modified and the vertex of the partitiondefinition represented by each identified other stored representation ismaintained, wherein the identification and modification are furtherrepeated by the processor for each of the identified other storedrepresentations.
 13. The system of claim 12 wherein the modificationfurther comprises application of an affine transformation, a rubbersheeting transform, or combination thereof, to each vertex.
 14. Thesystem of claim 11 wherein the relationship comprises one of an absolutedistance, a proportionate distance, an angle relative to a fixeddirection, collinearity, or a combination thereof.
 15. The system ofclaim 11 wherein one partition definition defines a subdivision of thearea of a story which at least partially overlaps a subdivision of thearea of the story defined by another partition definition.
 16. Thesystem of claim 11 wherein the second logic is further executable by theprocessor to cause the processor to generate and store, when a receivedpartition definition defines a subdivision having at least a portion ofa boundary in common with another subdivision defined by a previouslyreceived partition definition, a representation of the common portion ofthe boundary and relate the representation of the common portion of theboundary to the representations of the associated partition definitions.17. The system of claim 11 wherein at least one partition definition ofthe set of partition definitions of a story of the structure isspecified as a location, within the story, of at least one vertexrelative to at least one other vertex, the location of which isspecified by another partition definition of a set of partitiondefinitions of a different story of the structure.
 18. The system ofclaim 17 wherein the at location of the at least one vertex is specifiedapproximately collinear to the location of the at least one othervertex, the first logic is further executable by the processor to causethe processor to adjust one of the location of the at least one vertex,the location of the at least one other vertex or a combination thereofsuch that the location of the at least one vertex is collinear with thelocation of the at least one other vertex.
 19. The system of claim 11wherein the set of partition definitions for a story comprises at leastone partition definition defining a subdivision which is not bounded byan outer boundary of the story.
 20. A system comprising: an interfaceoperative to receive a specification of a structure having at least onestory, the specification comprising a set of partition definitions foreach story, each partition definition of the set defining a subdivisionof the area of the associated story, the subdivision being defined by atleast a portion of an outer boundary, at least a portion of an interiorboundary or a combination thereof, each partition definition beingspecified as a location of at least one vertex relative to an origin, alocation of at least one vertex relative to at least one other vertex ora combination thereof; and a processor coupled with the interface andoperative to relate the received partition definition to each previouslyreceived partition definition for which a location of at least onevertex of the received partition is specified relative to the locationof at least one vertex of the previously received partition definition,and whereby, upon receipt of a modification of at least a portion of atleast one partition definition which modifies a location of at least onevertex specified thereby, each other partition definition, related tothe partition definition for which the modification was received, ismodified as a function of the relationship between the vertex whoselocation was modified and the location of the vertex of the relatedpartition definition.